Update June 22nd: Leucate Plage, Rennes-le-Château et Gorges de Galamus

Hey so trying to do a bit better with updates, here is a little summary of my last few days. The weather has been amazing really one can't complain, except for the humidity which makes breathing and having nice hair virtually impossible. Anyways, Thursday was June 19th which for me was registration day for my University classes at U of S, and it was pretty miserable. I got into 8 of my 10 classes and am currently waiting on overrides, as it was so close to the weekend I don't expect much till next week. I filled out the forms but couldn't scan or fax them. I rather unprofessionally sent them as JPEG files in the hopes that the departments of Sociology and of Geography and Planning will take pity on me. Next step will be to try good old snail mail so I really hope they take the files as photos and it'll finally be over with.
Friday was a bit better, I road with the guests to Leucate Plage to enjoy a very hot day in the sun. I definitely gained some colour on the ride and my cyclist tan lines are on their way. The cyclists with the last group were a bit novice so they chose not to make the full 70 km trip planned which meant I actually got a pretty easy ride in and a very relaxing day at the beach. The Mediterranean Sea was nice and warm I swam in it for quite a while and even saw a few fish swimming near me. Unfortunately while there I broke my sunglasses but it was my cheap knock of Oakley's and not my beautiful Waiting for the Sun France wooden pair from Paris. :) I also dove down and found a pair of sunglasses which unfortunately for me and their owner were prescription.
Saturday was my day of rest, after the big hike Wednesday, registration torture on Thursday and the hot sun on Friday I really just needed to sit in the A/C apartment and read and watch movies so I did just that, with the exception of work and a stint to the gym of course.

Then today was a real treat my friend Tom took me out to see Rennes-le-Château and Gorges de Galamus. I have to admit I liked the Gorge best it was beautiful, and not nearly the hike Tom made me do Wednesday for which I was grateful. Anyways I have plenty of pictures for you all! Enjoy!

Here is a picture of the gorge I biked through on the way to the beach.

And here is the beach. 

 Here is my selfie with my now broken sunglasses. 

Here is the god awful public washroom.... just let that sink in. 

Here is a beautiful view of Carcassonne we enjoyed on the way back. 

 Here

Limoux was sunny and wonderful Saturday:)

Here is my little trip to Rennes-le-Château with Tom. If you don't know this is famous for being connected to the Da Vinci Code.

There is Tom by the church.

and here is the Chateau. 

this rock was for sacrificing people in 3000BC. Violent.Great views on top of the hill here.

 And then we headed to the Gorges which was stunning. 

 Here is me a happy camper:)

 Here you can sort of see the tiny dot that is a spelunker diving in the water caves. 

 This is an old monk house, I'll have to look up more information on it but it was very cool there was a wood carving of Jesus and a blind woman and a fountain for Mary, not sure the meaning behind either but I am sure there is more to it. I'll research another day!

Anyways its all been lovely I don't have anything on the go so far for the next few days but I will head to Carcassonne on Wednesday to meet my gal Steph! Can't wait to show her around! 

Updates: Limoux, Biking, Hiking, Alet-les-Bains etc.

So it has been pointed out to me that I am not doing a very good job at updating my blog. My apologies but really things have been pretty slow here in the South of France as of late. I've done a few things here and their including seeing a couple towns and tours, as well as a bit of cycling and hiking. The heat is almost unbearable for me now with temperatures around 30-35 degrees and a humidity of 94%+, it has been proven to me that I really am a Northern Girl. 

Alright, so since its been so long I wont be very good with dates here but since my last post I have done a few different things and I'll put them in the proper order. So first is Alet les Bains, which I went to with the last artist group we had. This is a particularly beautiful town that is actually quite close to Limoux. Alet les Bains is known for the beautiful destroyed Catholic Church which I took many photos of as well as attempted to sketch. 

 Alet les Bains also had a particularly picturesque town.

 Oh and a swing set that I stopped at to enjoy thoroughly, I'm a child at heart what can I say.

I took a lovely ride a few days after that past Pieusse. Iw as actually trying to ride to St. Hilaire but I think I took the wrong turn because it never came up. On the silver lining however, my ride afforded beautiful scenes of vineyards and rolling hills. 

Really it made for a very picturesque nature ride. 

With all the heat lately flash thunderstorms have become fairly common including this one that lasted maybe 20 minutes and nearly flooded the street. Of course within the following hour the sun had basically dried the whole mess up.

 More updates on my personal life? Well I got to have a lovely skype session with my baby Sophie back home:) Miss her more than anything in the world<3 I only wish I could skype Max and Dawson.

 Most recently I went out with the cyclists to Lagrasse, which I've actually been to before but this time knowing the town a bit better I was able to experience alot more than I had the first time.
These first pictures are actually on the road to Lagrasse. This first one is in Perpetryse which I  most certainly spelled wrong. Sorry. Its a very cute little town with a lovely church.

 Okay, so wine vineyard lesson of the day... they plant roses next to the vines because they are more attractive to animals and bugs so if any come along they go for the rose bush not the grapes. Huh, who knew?!?

What's a day without a ridiculously shameful selfie

 Ruins along the road and Kristina being a goof.

 Here are some photos of Lagrasse's town centre which I hadn't included last time. Its considered one of the most beautiful and well preserved squares in the South of France and I am told when the market is on its really something else.

 The Abbey, again one of the must sees of France I am told. It really is spectacular and in such great condition.

 Pictures of town from the water.

More shameless selfies... my bad. 

 Most recently on the personal life end of things I received a lovely card from St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador where my Mom was visiting my brother Orrin. (who has not sent me a postcard as he said he would back in April...hint)

I think one of my favourite things is getting mail from home even if it makes me a bit homesick:)

So yesterday on my day off my friend Tom and I took a hike up to the windmills over Limoux. It was completely steep, straight up hill and awful... so basically loads of fun. I realize I need to kick into gear getting in shape because man was it hard. It was so worth the views though.

 At the top there is this cement table that points in the directions of all the major sites in the region. and From the top on a clear day you can see the Pyrenees, Bugarasch and Carcassonne

 Here is me super tired and out of shape.... I slept well that night. 

 Here to give an idea of how steep it was.

Alright so thats a quick nutshell glance of what I've been up to lately. Tomorrow I'm heading out on the bike to the sea. I can't wait since I've only been once and that was months ago now! I'll be sure to post pictures about that!

I have lots coming up in the next few weeks so expect to hear from me more, my darling Steph is coming to visit before she heads back to Canada next week, than in about 20 some days my Parents are here and I will be heading out with them to Spain! Finally my girl Stacey is planning a trip to Europe at the very end of July and is likely to be in this area for my last couple weeks before I head home in August. Its crazy to think how quickly the next two months are going to fly by so I really need to remind myself to pack in all the site seeing I can!

Till nest time 

A Bien Tout!